This tiny house isn’t just itty bitty — it also folds up.
Among the myriad offerings for basically anything on Amazon, one of the more surprising is a “portable prefabricated tiny home” priced at $34,999.
The unique, 380-square-foot structure boasts an “expandable” steel frame, thermal insulation — and sufficient space to be divided into two bedrooms, one living room, a bathroom and a kitchen, according to its product page.
The home, with the brand name Zolyndo, comes in three options. A 13-by-20-foot structure with a bathroom costs $19,999, while a 15-by-20-foot one sets you back $22,999. The $34,999 build is bigger, and comes with a restroom. This being Amazon, it’s available to ship within four to five days.
Although the tiny house movement has become mainstream in recent years, the fact that prefab houses are for sale via retailers such as Home Depot is still unique — and the concept of one that folds outs is even more distinctive. The Amazon product page notes the homes have drywall anchors and holes for screws for installation — and that the unfolding process is “simple.”
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Unboxing the house.TikTok/@unspeakk
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The home fully unfolded.TikTok/@unspeakk
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The Amazon listing suggests the home would make a good hotel, booth or office.Amazon
A group of social media creators recently tested the functionality of the concept by purchasing one such foldable abode from Amazon and uploading their review to their TikTok, Survive and Thrive Co. — where it has accrued more than 11,000 likes and 237,000 views.
“I bought a house on Amazon,” reads the text over a clip of men cutting open an enormous Amazon box and then exploring the shipping container-like residence it contains.
“There’s a whole bathroom,” comments one user, exploring the compact bathroom, which appears to have arrived with water hooked up.
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Inside an unfolded Amazon home.Amazon
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The bathroom in an Amazon foldable home.Amazon
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A digital rendering showing the layout of a foldable home available on Amazon.Amazon
Electrical outlets, however, do not come included, they discover after unfolding the house to its full size. (That bit alone is mentioned on the product’s Amazon page.)
“Bro this thing is so easy to build,” they comment on the setup. “You literally just unfold it.”
Viewers were both impressed and concerned about the shippable living situation.
“That house will close on me like a deck of cards,” commented one TikTok user.
“But how well would it do in different weather and how is insulation?” wondered another.
The most liked commenter, meanwhile, reflected not on the structural integrity of the domicile — but how ridiculous it might be if someone were to get kicked out of the space in a rage.
“Not me getting kicked out of somebody’s foldable house, and kicking a wall back in when I left,” they wrote.
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A company named Boxabl wants to bring down the cost of housing with a twist on the typical modular home. They’re making houses that are cheaper to ship because you unfold them once they’re on site.
We visited the company at their headquarters in Las Vegas to get a look at the Casita, which is the first model of their $50,000 foldable home.
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Inside, there’s everything you need: a kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Many of the fixtures and appliances come ready to go.
“It’s meant to be … a studio apartment for one or two people. The idea is that this would be targeted towards accessory dwelling units… which are becoming increasingly popular in California,” explained Galiano Tiramani, co-founder of Boxabl.
Boxabl let me help unfold their prototype home. Some of the process requires lifting equipment, but the rest is quite easy and can be done by humans. The outer wall folds down into a floor, then the two side walls unfold. Finally, the roof unfolds to cover the top.
Boxabl recently gained attention from headlines proclaiming Elon Musk lives in one of their tiny homes. They could neither confirm nor deny that.
“We certainly welcome the press and awareness that it’s brought to us,” said Tiramani.
So far, Boxabl has built three houses. Two are on site at their headquarters, which leaves a third we did not see. The HQ features a brand new, 170,000 square foot factory that’s about to begin work on orders.
“The goal here is to have the lowest cost housing solution ever,” said Tiramani.
Boxabl believes folding homes are key to efficient transport. The typical modular home is fourteen feet wide and requires that familiar “wide load” sign and escort trucks while it travels down a highway. Boxabl is making their foldable home just eight feet wide, which requires no special assistance. This means the homes can be shipped anywhere for potentially less cost.
“I think the only way to solve housing is with solutions like this that are technology oriented. It’s really an issue of supply and demand. If there’s more supply price will go down,” concluded Tiramani.
Boxabl will soon start making their first order of 156 homes for the Department of Defense. If all goes well, they want to expand operations and build more homes. They have a waiting list of over 100,000 people who want to unfold their next place to live.
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